Peoria County one step closer to getting work camp property

A legislative plan that would turn over the former Hanna City Work Camp property to Peoria County inched closer to becoming law on Wednesday.

Adriana Colindres

A legislative plan that would turn over the former Hanna City Work Camp property to Peoria County inched closer to becoming law on Wednesday.

With no debate and no opposition, the Senate Executive Committee voted for House Bill 4653, sponsored by Sen. Dale Risinger, R-Peoria. It advances to the Senate floor.

Earlier this spring, the same panel approved a separate but identical bill that would give the 35-acre, state-owned property to Peoria County.

HB4653, however, is farther along in the legislative process. The bill already passed in the House of Representatives, and if the full Senate votes for it, it would head to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s desk. With his signature, it would become law.

County officials hope to use the work camp site for inmates who have mental health problems and to ease jail overcrowding. They also have talked about using the space for a minimum-security work-release program.

The legislation specifies that the work camp property would be returned to the state if the county fails to use it for a public purpose.

The Illinois Department of Corrections ran the work camp until 2002, when it closed because of state budget cuts.

It has been unused since then.

The Peoria County Board’s facilities committee learned on Tuesday that fixing up the site could cost more than $18 million, even though the land itself would come at no charge if the pending bill becomes law.

According to a county-commissioned study by PSA Dewberry, at least a dozen of the 36 buildings on the property should be demolished because renovating them would prove more expensive. Further examination is needed to determine if some other buildings also should be razed.

At the time the work camp closed, it housed about 230 inmates and employed 80 to 90 people.

Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or adriana.colindres@sj-r.com.

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